War Zone
by CatchTheRainbow
Summary: Falling for your best friend isn't an easy ride. Especially if evil girlfriends and arch nemesis's decide to join the ride too. Is anyone ever ready for the war zone ahead? Best friends Izzy Fuentes and Tripp Campbell sure weren't. Tripp/Izzy.
1. This Royally Sucks

_Disclaimer: I do not own I'm In the Band or its characters. Just the idea and anyone you do not recognise. _

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**One: This Royally Sucks**

It wasn't easy being Isabella Fuentes. One main reason for that was because more than half the majority of things in her life just seemed to...well suck.

She was one of the many unlucky girls in life who were unfortunate enough to have a best friend that was a guy. Of course she didn't mean that literally because she very much liked his company. But there were also many problems to this arrangement. The problem of never really being able to talk about the 'girly' things that were bothering her or not being able to go shopping for cute things at the mall with someone once in a while was only a few of the many things that troubled her. They could tell each other everything, but not _everything _and sometimes she was positive it couldn't be possible for anyone out there in the universe to be more immature than he was_. _

And something that was once a dream but was now one of the top five of her 'things that suck in my life' list was the fact that she, out of all the girls in the suburbs had ended up being the girl with the teen lead guitarist of _Iron Weasel _as her best friend.

"An elephant? No more like a...turtle?" Lying down flat on her back in her backyard, Izzy muttered to herself as she stared thoughtfully up at the clear blue sky. Playing the 'Guess what shape that cloud is?' game wasn't exactly what she had imagined for her oh so productive Saturday afternoon. Shouldn't normal girls her age be out with their other _girl-_friends, spending time doing the girly things that girls should do? Why didn't she ever make the effort of making friends that were girls from time to time? She had to be that one female in pre-school who thought being unique was the way to go and sitting next to the kid with the bowl treatment and the guitar on his shirt was the _right_ thing to do.

Boy if she could, she wouldn't think twice about going back in time and smacking her six year old self.

Eleven years later and look where her stupid decision had gotten her; alone and slowly dying of boredom on a _Saturday_ for crying out loud! One out of the two days of the week she had to relax and have fun was slowly washing down the drain and all because a certain best friend of hers had decided he'd rather look after three dim-witted idiots that were also known as his band members than hang out with her!

Why couldn't she have just gone through that 'cooties' phase? Life would have been an absolute breeze right about now.

"Isabella? Sweetie where are you?" Oh no, had her my mother decided to come join her? What was more pathetic than considering the company of your parents? She concluded the answer for that had yet to be discovered.

"Out here Mom."After shouting her where abouts, Izzy bit her lip and kept her gaze focused on the sky, to the point that it turned blurry. She heard her mom's light chuckle before long brown wavy hair that was somewhat similar to Izzy's blocked the view of the clouds. Izzy's mother held amusement in her eyes as she looked down at her daughter.

"Tripp's on the phone, he was wondering if you wanted to come over." Izzy raised both her eyebrows in disbelieve. Was this a dream? Tripp actually wanted _her _over? It must have been a lifetime since she'd heard anything like that...two, three weeks tops.

"I'm guessing those three buttheads are driving him insane and he just wants someone to help babysit them or something." She sat up none the less, shaking her head and raking a hand through her brown hair.

"I'm sure he also wants to see you honey." Her mother said in a tone that indicated she knew something rather interesting. She also added a light pat on Izzy's head for good measure causing Izzy to swat at her mother's hand good naturedly.

"Yeah, right. Pass the phone please." Izzy's mother rolled her eyes playfully before handing the cordless device over and heading back inside the house. Izzy begrudgingly stood up on the spot and pressed the receiver to her ear with a sigh.

"'Yes?" Yeah, that's right. He was only going to get a one-word slightly abbreviated answer. This didn't seem to bother him though. And if it did, he did a very good job of hiding it.

"Hey Iz, you coming over here or what?" That was Tripp for you; a well mannered boy who loved to politely invite his closest friends over to his household. Not. Izzy frowned as she stared at the floor and shoved her free hand into her back pocket.

"Hmm well let me take time to consider that amazing offer...how about no?" In all honesty, the words had formed in her mouth and escaped her lips before she could register them properly as an actual response; so she didn't know why she had used that as a reply. She was slightly pissed off at him for deciding she'd become a second priority in his life without her consent...but it's not like that had anything to do with it right?

"Aw, come on...the guys are out and I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together. You know just you and me." Her stomach jolted for a second because she let her ears scrap away the context of his words. It sounded as if he just wanted to be alone with her and for reasons other than just hanging out as friends. She knew she was getting ahead of herself so she shook that thought away in an instant.

The way he had said them had sounded innocent enough, so why was she bothering to ridicule herself? She knew the real reason he was calling was because as soon as the three man children went off to play, she was the one he could easily run over to as some sort of last resort. Her lips formed the shape of a frown again. Well no way was she becoming a last resort for _anybody._

"I get it, I'm like some sort of rebound for you right?" She asked him as she lay all her support to one side of her body, and placed a hand on her hip with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not!" He was quick to defend himself. "I just...I know we haven't been spending time together all that much lately and...can a guy _not _miss his best friend?" Great. He was using that tone. The one he used for when he was trying to get what he wanted and probably knew got under her skin. His voice would come out pleading and would crack slightly at the end of his sentence. Something about that always managed turn her insides to mush. Biting her lip for what had to be the millionth time that day; Izzy stared down at the faded green grass.

"I'm mad at you." She said quietly, her voice resembling one of a little five year old girl.

"I figured that, and I'm trying to make that, well, not the case. " Ugh, he was being all cute and it wasn't even fair. She could feel her anger slipping away and she was desperate to cling on to it for a while longer.

"Aren't you just going to kick me out or ignore me once Iron Weasel comes back?" He was silent for a moment. She sighed as she guessed he was only realising he did this now. He replied a minute later once he'd gathered his thoughts.

"I'll let you punch me if you notice that even begins to happen." She let the corners of her mouth tug upwards slightly into a small smile despite herself. When he put it like that...she couldn't help but give in right? Ugh, she was so going to regret this later. After a moment of silence she finally replied.

"I'll be there in ten."

"I'm counting on that." Rolling her eyes, she inwardly cringed upon hearing the satisfaction in his voice. He obviously thought he'd won her over again...but then again he pretty much had. Izzy hung up the phone and walked back into her house, feeling pathetic in more ways than one.

**(TXI)**

Crap. That seemed to be the one and only word that was roaming through the mind of Tripp Campbell.

She was angry. He knew that for sure because the bitterness of her tone was still ringing in his ears. He could feel a rising pile of guilt forming in his stomach, and that meant he definitely had to get her happy again, or this whole situation would eat at his insides until he was nothing but a ball of lint.

It had been a while in which Tripp had been in the company of his best friend and it wasn't like he hadn't noticed how little he saw of her recently. He knew they didn't hang out as much. He also knew she was pretty angry about this fact and that scared him a little. When Izzy was angry she tended to hold that anger for a..._good_ amount of time to say the least.

She had said she would come over, but that didn't mean she was softening one bit. A few scenarios began to consulate in his head and he started to ponder. She may come over and just sit there on his couch; staring expressionless at the TV and muttering one word answers to his pathetic conversation starters. She may come over, shout at him for a good half hour and then leave in a huff possibly to never return. She may not have even been serious about coming over and just not show up at all.

No. She would definitely come over. He ruled out the last possibility out of his head. He frowned as he stared at the front door; willing for Izzy to just bust it down with the heel of her converse and enter with a smile on her face. Any second now she would walk through those doors without knocking because you know, she was Izzy and was the only girl allowed to do that, and then he would have to think of something to say that would cause her to crack a smile or even better make her laugh.

Sheesh, it was exhausting having a girl as a best friend.

As Izzy stood firmly on Tripp's front porch, you'd think she'd spend less time debating on whether she should just walk in or knock; but that's what she did for about five minutes at least. Gosh, what was she doing? She was his best friend and that came with privileges. Privileges that included casually walking into his house for ten going on eleven years now and it didn't mean that because they were kind of, sort of, not really fighting that normal routine had to change. This wasn't even one of their 'serious' arguments and she was already hesitating. Scoffing at herself and making sure to keep in mind to look nonchalant, she walked in through the door.

She noticed him lounging on his couch, and just from the back of his head her stomach was in knots. She never did quite like the effect he had on her. She smiled to herself once she realised he hadn't heard her walk in and it was a joy to revel at his reaction when she stood behind him and whispered in his ear.

"Boo." He jumped slightly and she had to hold back a grin as she moved to sit down next to him. Unlucky for her he had managed to notice the internal battle that she was fighting and noticed her lips restraining themselves from tugging upwards. Relief slowly began to flow in his chest and he relaxed his bones.

"Boo yourself." He replied with that soft smile he always saved for her occupying his own lips. It caused the usual fluttering feeling that occurred when he did that to erupt in her stomach and she had to look away for a brief few moments.

"So where did your three monkey's go?" She asked, stealing some of the popcorn that was in a bowl on his lap. Usually he would snatch the bowl of buttery goodness out of her reach but considering they had just returned to unspoken good terms he let it slide as she swallowed the mouthful.

"I don't know. They said 'grown up band stuff' and it's not like I'm bothered to figure out what that means." Izzy nodded but then frowned as a not so satisfying mental image flashed in her mind.

"Is it weird that I'm imagining a hot tub?" And let's not forget her lovely friend Burger suddenly plaguing her thoughts wearing swimming trunks that were three sizes too small.

"Is it weird that I'm now imagining Ash in a bikini?" Izzy looked towards Tripp to see he was already looking back at her, disgust masking his features. They both shuddered before letting out a laugh.

"_So not_ the mental image I was looking for." With his gaze trailed on her, he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And what mental image _were _you looking for then." With a small knowing smile, she cast her gaze downwards. Inside, her heart was beating a little faster than what she would consider her normal rate and she decided to answer his question internally. _You, holding me in your arms. Sweeping my hair away from my face and telling me how gorgeous you think I am. I could go as far as you standing here shirtless actually._

"Oh...nothing of your concern Mr. Campbell." She hadn't looked back at him yet. If she did she was sure her cheeks were bound to turn a not so attractive shade of red. He noticed her hesitation to look up in his direction and he couldn't stop the smirk that slowly grazed his lips. What perverted thoughts were travelling around inside that cute little head of hers? Maybe he was right to suspect she had a thing for Derek.

More importantly...did he just describe her as cute?

"Well now I _have _to know Miss Fuentes." He shook the thought of his weird use of adjectives out of his mind and moved so he was sitting slightly closer to her. She didn't even notice at first because she was still trying to figure out how he made her last name sound so amazing...but then again he probably could've made the word _bread_ sound amazing!

"Uh, no you really don't." She finally turned to look up and noticed he was much closer than what she remembered from two minutes ago. Her eyes widened slightly but Tripp didn't seem to make any note of it. Their proximity was having a worrying effect on her and she didn't want to do or say anything else that could be considered stupid. So she stood up and let out a nervous laugh, successfully stopping anymore of his interrogation as she walked towards his kitchen. Tripp watched her walk away and leaned back against his couch. He had forgotten how fun it was to watch her get all uncomfortable.

"Get me a root beer please babe." He shouted after her, causing Izzy to roll her eyes at his use of the word 'babe'. He may have been her best friend but that didn't mean she liked it when any boy called her stupid pet names like that.

"Whatever sweetie," She yelled back as recoil and opened his refrigerator so she could grab two of the same cool beverage. She began mindlessly humming an Iron Weasel song to herself as she headed back into the living room, but as she pushed the door open she noticed Tripp was on the phone. She stopped abruptly when she heard the words he was failing to whisper into the receiver.

"Sorry for picking up on the last ring honey, my phone was on low vibrate." Honey? Who the heck was he calling honey? Izzy frowned to herself and slowly but quietly walked backwards into the kitchen; hiding behind it while clutching onto the two root beer bottles for what seemed like dear life.

"Nothing much, missing you though. I'm here with Izzy." There was a pause. "Gia, she' just my friend remember?"

Did he say...Gia?

Izzy's heart sank as her mind wandered to the only Gia he could be possibly talking to. Head cheerleader/head bitch in charge, Gia Jenkins.

"There's nothing to be jealous about G. You know I could never do that to you. She's my best friend and nothing more." Now she couldn't even feel angry over Gia because Tripp's words stung like a freshly opened cut. Nothing more? Like...ever? The two words rang through her ears like the beginnings of a throbbing headache and she had to swallow to console the dryness of her throat.

"Sure, I'll be there in twenty. Aw, no you hang up first." Like hell was she going to let that yuck fest start. She cleared her throat loudly and walked through the kitchen door as if she'd just finished getting their drinks. As he saw her walking in, he hastily hung up. She smirked at this as she handed him a bottle and rejoined him on the couch.

"So, who was that on the phone?" This was going to be interesting. He knew of how much she despised Gia's presence. Was he going to lie to her?

"Oh, no one that important." Izzy narrowed her eyes. Well, she couldn't really say this was a lie. It's not like Gia was very significant to their lives...or rather her life anyway.

"So that wasn't Gia I heard you flirting with on the phone then?" The name escaped her lips like a deadly virus and although Izzy had said it calm enough, she suddenly had the urge to run upstairs to Tripp's bathroom and stick her mouth under the faucet.

"Maybe it was...how would you know?" He sounded offended, looking at her as if she had eavesdropped on purpose.

"Well don't blame the fact that you can't whisper for crap on me." She eyed him with a glare before turning her attention to her root beer bottle.

"Oh...shut up."At his lame come back she smiled to herself and her tense muscles relaxed a little.

"So...you and Gia huh?"

"Yeah...she really is something else you know?" _Yeah, something else from another species. Or something to be thrown into a dumpster perhaps?_ To refrain herself from saying any of this, Izzy put the rim of the bottle to her lips and let the fizzy liquid soothe her throat.

"I'm going to see her in about twenty minutes...you don't mind do you?" Oh no, of course she didn't mind. She didn't mind at _all_ that she was being used for company again and that he had found what he thought was better company somewhere else. She _definitely_ didn't mind that of _all _people he could have chosen he was going to leave her for Gia. Nope, she didn't mind one bit. She directed him with a disbelieving look, but because his attention was on the TV screen he didn't notice. She bit her lip to stop herself from heaving a big sigh.

"Of course not." She finally said. "I might as well leave now anyway. I have...stuff to do." Oh she definitely had stuff to do alright, and screaming into a pillow from frustration for the next three hours just so happened to be one of them.

"Oh okay," She marvelled over the fact the he at least sounded sad. "I'll call you later?" Later. A word that never really indicated a specific time period. Izzy momentarily decided that 'later' was no longer a favoured word of hers from the English dictionary as she managed a smile and let her eyes wonder to the carpet.

"Yeah sure, I'll be waiting." And indeed she would be.

It was official, her life _royally _sucked. She was in love with her best friend and wasn't able to do a damn thing about it. She slowly looked up at him to see he was now smiling at his phone like a love sick idiot as he most probably texted Gia. It looked like she wouldn't be able to do anything about it for quite some time.

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**Author's Note: **

_BOO! Yes, I am back haha._

_So, I know everyone who was reading this before wants to hit me, but please find it your heart not to want to? I totally understand if you still do lmao._

_Anyways, so as planned I've managed to write this again in third person. I also have a few more chapters that I've already typed up in this way too :) I totally understand if you didn't really read this chapter properly though considering it's the same thing as before only in a different POV. Though it is necessary I guess as I've added a few new things in there._

_I hoped you guys liked this, and chapter two will be up next week :)_

_Review! Tell me your thoughts and what not._

**-N**


	2. Just A Brief Encounter

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own I'm in The Band or any of its characters. Yep, you know that haha._

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**Two: Just a Brief Encounter **

Izzy had left the house with a heavy heart and an empty root beer bottle. She'd needed it so she could take some anger out on a nearby wall. The sound of shattering glass was satisfying to her ears as she imagined it was Gia's face. That girl couldn't stay pretty forever.

The burning sun was high in the sky as she walked home. It was a shame that she had no plans now and the beautiful day was about to become a huge waste. Luckily, she was at her front door in less than five minutes and so she had somewhere to mope about everything in private.

As promised, she ran straight upstairs to her bedroom and made a grand entrance of dramatically leaping onto the bed. Her face was immediately suffocated by her blue striped pillow and if her voice hadn't been muffled by the soft object she probably would've screamed the house down. Like a little kid throwing a tantrum, she added the crazy kicking of her legs for effect.

Gia. It could have been anyone - _anyone _else and she would have been cool with it...well, at a reasonable level at least. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have gotten the strongest urge to throw said person out of a window and over the horizon; never to be seen again. Not that she was actually thinking of doing that with Gia or anything. It was just a possible idea.

Tripp was a reasonably smart boy. Why would he want to downgrade his standards to someone like her? That was the question her brain failed to register as she continued to wallow in pity. Maybe he just wanted to 'get some'. But then again Tripp wasn't an asshole. When had he decided that he'd even liked Gia? She was usually like a hawk when it came to him and girls. How on _earth _had she not noticed this?

Izzy eventually calmed herself down about an hour and a half later. Sitting with her legs crossed, and her head pressed against the headboard, she stared into the distance like a confused fish. What was she meant to do now if she wanted to hang out with Tripp? Gia would obviously find a way for her to practically never see him again, and because Tripp was a boy he would probably never notice. Maybe it would even come to the point where her existence would be just a distant memory to him and if he were asked about her, he would reply with something like "Izzy? Oh, uh...was that an old guitar of mine?"

...Okay, maybe that was taking it all a bit too far. She had known Tripp practically forever and there was no way he could just forget about her. Even with a girlfriend who for all she knew could perform amnesia on an innocent person. She let herself get carried away with random thoughts for a while longer, only letting it come to an abrupt halt when her phone began to ring. The beginning chords to the Iron Weasel hit 'Pull My Finger' began to play and she quickly grabbed her phone without checking its caller I.D.

"Hello?" She answered in a quiet voice. Why was that still her ringtone? The stupid song reminded her of Tripp and she really didn't want that at the moment.

"Iz? Are you okay?" Oh how irony reared its ugly head as the person she really didn't need to think about at the moment was on the other end of the line. She sighed inaudibly and cleared her throat.

"Yeah, I'm fine Tripp. What's up?" Tripp's pause was an indication that he probably didn't believe her but he decided not to say anything about it.

"Well, I did promise I'd call you. I do keep my promises missy." The smile she could hear in his voice almost caused her lips to curve upwards.

"Right. You _always_ keep your promises." Her tone was meant to sound sarcastic, but instead came out sad and quiet.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you sure you're okay?" She wanted to tell him that she wasn't okay and that she was slowly dying on the inside. She also wanted to tell him that he was forbidden from even thinking about Gia again. She was even considering screaming down the receiver that she was head over heels for him and that he was an absolute idiot for not noticing this.

"I told you, I'm fine. Just tired I guess." Well, it looked like she wasn't going to tell him any of those things today. He seemed to accept her answer reluctantly but then happily moved on to talk about the weasels and something very typically stupid Ash had said once they'd come back from one of their many day adventures. It wasn't like she gave a rat's ass about the antics of the weasels but it was better than him yammering on about what he'd done with Gia.

It wasn't long before she was forgetting why she was mad at Tripp and she silently cursed him in her head for being so darn cute at a time when she was meant to resent him. She bit her lip as her stomach twisted with nerves. _Tripp Campbell,_ she silently mused in her mind, _you suck._

**-(TXI)-**

The rest of the weekend past with a depressive ring to it and Monday reared its ugly head once again. Izzy didn't feel the need to be her usually cheery self that very morning, but even under normal circumstances she never was really all that cheery in the morning.

As she was slowly shovelling down her breakfast, she'd notice her phone vibrating with a surprising call from Tripp. She didn't answer it because she was eating. Yup, that was definitely the real reason.

She managed to drag herself to school with her feet feeling heavy against her weight. The possibility of seeing a sight she desperately didn't want to see was the cause of this. This sight of course involved a certain best friend and an evil blonde, their arms around each other in a sickeningly loving embrace. She could already imagine them being all cutesy and disgusting as soon as she laid eyes on them together and just wasn't up for it. If there was choice of whether she could run back home, get under her duvet covers and cry she'd take that in a heartbeat. Shockingly this wasn't an option, and so folding her arms across her chest in a frustrated matter, Izzy walked up the steps that led her to inside the school's building.

_So far so good _she thought to herself as she made her way to her locker. The usually hustle and bustle of high school was surrounding her and no sign of Tripp and Gia anywhere. After stopping in front of her locker and reciting the combination, she flung random items from her bag into the rectangular metal container. She figured it would be something to do as she mentally prepared herself for the day ahead.

Too bad she wasn't prepared for the sight that was behind her once she'd shut her locker and turned around.

Her heart immediately felt as if it was literally aching and she set her lips into a thin line as she watched _them_ interact at _her_ locker. She watched as she was practically groping him and his lack of retaliation to do a damned thing about it. Izzy immediately frowned at herself on her own stupidity because it wasn't like he would want to anyways. She was his girlfriend after all. The sight she had been dreading to lay her eyes on was now burning her eyes the longer she stared at them, so she tried to walk past them unnoticed, even putting her head down for effect . This was a wasted attempt however because Tripp noticed her almost instantly.

"Iz! Hey, over here." Izzy stopped in her place, closing her eyes and silently cursing to herself. Things never went the way she wanted them to when she needed it the most and she was quietly wondering why. Slowly, she turned around to face them with small, pained smile.

"Hi, Tripp...Gia." She managed to nod at Gia politely, but didn't look her directly in the eye because she was too busy leering at Gia's fake nails which were gripping tighter into Tripp's clothed arm.

"Hey...Isabella." Gia replied slowly. Her voice always managed to irk something inside Izzy and so it was like an automatic reaction when she inwardly grimaced. In fact, her overall self just annoyed Izzy to no end. Blonde bleached hair, clear blue eyes, superficial smile. Gia just managed to top it off with the excessive amount of short skirts and tight tank tops she owned; making her the typical high school bitch.

"I called you this morning, but you didn't pick up." Ha, as if she didn't know this. Izzy bit her lip, as she looked at a spot behind Tripp's head.

"Uh, yeah I was eating breakfast and you know me and my food." _Way to make yourself sound fat and ignorant at the same time Iz. _Tripp just raised an amused eyebrow at her, letting it slide.

There were was an unsaid tension drifting back and forth between the three; to which she Gia seemed to take joy upon. Tripp, being the oblivious boy that he was seemed to notice absolutely nothing at all. Instead he let the smile that always warmed its way into Izzy's heart graze his lips.

"I need to talk to Jared about something, so I'll see you ladies later." Just as he was about to walk off, Gia took this as her chance to pull Tripp towards her. Izzy could sense that Gia was about to close the space between them and alarm bells formed in her head as their faces grew closer and closer.

She needed to do something and she needed to do something fast. She could just about handle the sight of them just _smiling_ at each other; the sight of those smiles pressed against each other was another story. Out of sheer panic, Izzy did the only thing that seemed like a good idea in the heat of the moment...and she began to fake cough hysterically.

Tripp and Gia stopped leaning in and looked over at her in astonishment as she leaned forward letting out coughs that were far from real but very convincing. Tripp, being the concerned best friend that he was left Gia's side and walked over to Izzy; laying a comforting hand on her back.

"Whoa, Izzy, are you okay?" From the tingling sensation that was trailing down her spine, Izzy's train of thought was stumbled on for a few moments as she marvelled over the feeling of his hand.

"Yeah," She slowly straightened up, very much so noticing that his hand was still resting on her back. "I'm fine, just swallowed my gum." Tripp raised his eyebrows in confusion and withdrew his hand much to her disappointment.

"I thought you hated gum." Izzy froze for a second, before recovering with a nervous laugh.

"Well, uh, anytime is a time for change right?" Tripp eyed her suspiciously before turning his head at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"I'm sure Isabella is fine." Gia said shortly. "Now don't you owe me something?" Tripp smiled at her and walked back over to her, pressing his lips to her cheek.

Although their lips never touched, his made contact with her skin and that was enough for a horrible ache to settle in the pit of Izzy's stomach, causing her to look away. Without even seeing them, Izzy could sense the smirk on Gia's face that was obviously aimed towards her. She was practically glowing at her awkwardness and obvious disdain regarding what was happening at the moment.

"I'll see you at lunch Gee." Gee. Gee? She'd been already given a better nickname than Izzy for goodness sake.

"You sure will T bear." Izzy stood there and just gawked at them as they smiled at each other. How on earth did this girl get away with calling him _that?_ Tripp turned to look over at Izzy, and his smile was now aimed towards her.

"See ya later Izzy." He gave her a light pat on the shoulder and walked off before Izzy could even reply. She watched his retreating figure for a few seconds afterwards before letting a sigh escape her lips. It had been less than twenty four hours and she was already losing him. Turning around gloomily, she was met with a smug looking Gia, her smile nothing but mischievous.

"I'm sure you enjoyed watching that." She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against her locker. Izzy rolled my eyes at the conceited tone seeping in her voice.

"Yeah, it's the highlight of every girl's morning to see her best guy friend kissing his dog – oh I'm sorry, _girlfriend._" Izzy tried walking away, clenching both of her fists tighter as they swung on either side her body.

"Sarcasm doesn't sound right on you honey." Izzy stopped in her tracks as Gia walked over to her; standing in her path and making Izzy all the more irritated.

"Can you please get out of my way?" Izzy's tone was as sincere as she would allow. Gia still had the mischievous glint in her eye as Izzy looked down on her; a look that bothered her. Gia was shorter than Izzy though which in some ways had its advantages.

"I will, don't worry...but let me just leave you with this." And just like that Gia's blue eyes resembled the colour of ice, but what made her all the more creepy was the fact she still had a dazzling smile on her face.

"Don't mess with me Isabella. I'm not someone you would want to make upset." Izzy managed to refrain herself from snorting. She wasn't someone who was easily intimidated.

"Vice versa Gia, keep that in mind." Gia stepped closer to Izzy with her head held high, placing a hand on her hip.

"I'm serious now. It would be a shame if you just so happened to die a social death. Tripp is _mine_ now, and you just happen to be his...friend on the side tracks." Izzy's eyes narrowed at her words and Gia settled her hard gaze on her for a few more moments before she slowly stepped back and innocently waggled her fingers in a wave. She walked off, swaying her hips in what could only be called a slutty fashion. Izzy pressed her lips together in a thin line to refrain from screaming at an unnaturally high pitch. So, her first interaction with her best friend's girlfriend and her social life had already been threatened. Not many people could say they'd been through the same thing.

"Stupid bitch," Izzy muttered, before walking off to her own latest destination; homeroom.

**-(TXI)-**

Half an hour before lunch, Izzy was slowly dying and you could say in some ways she was already dead. Science wasn't her favourite subject, but today it only seemed to be that much harder to concentrate. He arm was slumped against the desk she was sitting at, and her head was resting on her arm. She could hear the sound of her other best friend Jared's pencil, assuming he was scribbling down important notes.

"Izzy, I would write some of this down if I were you." Izzy heard him whisper in what would be his way of discrete.

"Eh, I'll copy some of your stuff later." She told him disinterestedly. The thought of even picking up a pen was definitely not inviting. She'd rather just cry silently about the current events that were happening in her life.

"Miss Fuentes, I'm not boring you am I?"Izzy's eyes strode to the front as she slowly lifted her head up. Her science teacher Mr. Leonard was standing rigidly with a stern expression eared his wrinkled face.

"Oh no sir...please with all due respect carry on." He raised an eyebrow at her daring reply but didn't say much about it as he turned his back to face the board once again.

"Are you okay?" Jared whispered loudly once again. "You seem depressed today." Izzy smiled at his concern, and begrudgingly picked up her pen to copy some of his notes.

"Yeah I fine, don't worry about me Jared." She could feel his eyes on her as she stared down at his paper, looking away to copy what she had just read.

"Okay..." She heard him mutter, but he didn't sound convinced. Not one bit.

Finally, the rest of the lesson sailed by and the shrill bell rang indicating lunch time was finally here. Izzy raced out of the classroom, not being able to take the science classroom air any longer. She stood at the wall next to the room, waiting for Jared as he was shoved out the door by fellow classmates.

"My back is fragile, please be careful!" He cried out to no one in particular. He turned to see Izzy leaning against the wall, her lips pressed together as she tried to stifle a laugh. Even though it was at his expense, he was happy to see her smiling again. So he wouldn't scold her this time.

"Let's just go before the line is too long to bare." Jared murmured with a smile, and Izzy grinned, totally in a better mood as they walked towards the cafeteria.

Today's special was meatloaf. Though she was more than certain the _green _stale lookingsubstance wasn't meatloaf in the slightest...unless it was the 10 year old, left out in the sun kind.

"I wasn't that hungry anyway." She shrugged looking at Jared, as he stared at his plate in disgust. She opened her bag and got out her bottle of water, taking a few sips before putting the cap back on top.

"Hey guys!" Her ears were immediately alert as she looked up to see Tripp walking towards them – and no Gia insight? The day was definitely looking up.

"Hey," Izzy said slowly. "Where's your girlfriend?" Tripp shrugged, not even seeming too bothered about the fact he had no idea of the whereabouts of his own girlfriend.

"I'm not sure, practicing cheerleader moves?" Izzy smiled to herself. Tripp didn't seem to care where Gia was the moment. As if she had only just crossed his mind. The sun was suddenly shining brighter through the cafeteria windows than it was just five minutes ago.

"Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to hangout after school or something. We haven't really done that in a while." Were her ears deceiving her? Was he was actually asking her if she wanted to hangout like old times? And Alone for that matter?

She blinked, stunned before answering with a short "Sure," And was graced with the presence of Tripp's excited smile.

**-TXI-**

After school, the halls were crowded with students trying to leave the building. Izzy, leaned against the soft metal that was her locker, and the smile on her face just simply wouldn't go away. She even began humming to herself, feeling as if nothing could bring down her mood.

"Hey, Izzy." At, the sound of Tripp's voice Izzy stopped her humming and looked up to where his voice was coming from...only to have the smile wiped off her face once she saw who he had his arm around.

"Hi _Izzy._" Gia greeted, a smirk playing on her glossed lips. All Izzy could do was stare at her, her own lips sedated together in a straight line.

"Oh right, Gee is coming with us. Hope you don't mind." Izzy slowly turned her gaze away from Gia to meet Tripp's; his eyes were so light and oblivious. She forced her mouth to curve upwards into a strained smile.

"Mind? Of course not..." Her voice sounded weak, and she noticed Gia's smirk turn into a full on grin upon noticing this.

"Oh that's good, I would just hate to intrude." Izzy's eyes met Gia's cold blue ones and there was a small amount of will power refraining her from punching Gia square in the face.

"Let's just get going, shall we?" Izzy said, with a tight edge in her tone. And before the other two could say anything, Izzy began to rush ahead.

"I wonder what her problem is." She faintly heard Gia mutter innocently to Tripp. _That skank knows_ _exactly what my problem is_, Izzy thought to herself angrily, _and she's going to pay for it somehow._

* * *

_**A/N:** Hello! :) So, this is up later than I said it would be, but only because I didn't get any reviews last chapter :( Understandable, considering how much I suck at updating. But reviews are the motivator for most ff authors out there._

_Well, at least for me it is LOL._

_Anyway, I hope people who are reading this enjoy the re-do I have done of this chapter and review this time...please review this time? :) Oh, and thanks to those who have alerted this story/me. At least I have some indication people are still reading this. :)_

_Until next update._

_-N_


	3. Add Another Guy Into The Mix

**Disclaimer: I don't own I'm In the Band...only the characters you don't recognise. You all know this I'm sure.**

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**Three: Add Another Guy Into The Mix**

The walk to the mall was awkward to say the least.

Izzy stomped ahead, her bag swinging from side to side vigorously while the couple behind her decided to lag behind and be affectionate with each other. She pushed her way into the mall, and gritted her teeth as she walked towards the food court. Beyond this point, food was her only friend. Stopping in front of the deserted counter, she began to order.

"I'll have a large helping of curly fries, and a strawberry splat shake please Matt." Actually scratch that. Food and_ Matt_ were her only friends. Matthew Stellar was an average seventeen year old guy. He worked at the food court afterschool Monday through Friday. He and Izzy had met properly and gotten along instantly the day she decided to order three helpings of curly fries all to herself. He had admired her big appetite considering she was a girl and not going for the barely visible portion of salad they also had on the menu. Izzy had always found him attractive to say the least, with his blonde mop head of hair and dazzling smile – but in her eyes, nobody could compare to Tripp.

"Izzy, dude, you seriously don't think I know what you like eating here by now? Psh, I am insulted!" Matt exclaimed. Izzy laughed lightly and he smiled upon causing the musical sound to come out of her before turning around to get what she'd ordered.

"Iz, there you are!" Her heart sank upon hearing Tripp's voice...which was weird, because she usually loved hearing his voice.

"We'd began to think you'd run off or something." An innocent sounding voice added. Izzy scowled to herself, trying to keep her anger in check before turning around to briefly glare at the evil smile on Gia's face.

"You guys walk too slow...so I just went ahead." Izzy told them simply, looking down at the tiled floor before looking back up again. She didn't like the look in Tripp's eyes; a hazy mix between confused and sad. It caused a weird feeling to swirl in her stomach.

"Here's your order, don't eat it too fast like the last time...oh hey Tripp, Tripp's lady friend." Tripp nodded to Matt in a greeting and Gia waved; her smile as fake as her nails. Rolling her eyes, Izzy thanked Matt for getting her order before leaving them to order whatever they wanted and finding a table to sit at. To her surprise, she noticed Jared on a table alone; typing away at something on his laptop with a calm expression on his face. Izzy smiled upon noticing him, walking over to his table.

"Only you would bring a laptop to the mall Jared." She said with a slight laugh, sitting in the chair opposite him and sipping on her shake.

"Yeah, well a proud nerd is what I am." He replied, looking up at her for a few brief seconds to give her a smile before looking back down to focus on his screen. She was happily enjoying the few moments of silence they were basked in before Gia's loud, scratchy laugh cut in to that of course. Izzy shook her head, annoyance evident on her features.

"That's all we need, her fake screechy hyena laugh to burst innocent people's ear drums." Izzy murmured quietly to herself. Obviously not quiet enough however because Jared snickered shortly after, causing Izzy to smile.

"You're _so_ funny Tripp." With the smile wiped clean off her face, Izzy turned around to see Gia and Tripp heading towards the table, his arm around her waist as they both held milkshakes of their own.

The ache in her chest was suddenly much harder to ignore than it was previously.

It was like she was frozen, with her eyes glued to where Tripp's arm was. It took all of about 10 seconds for her to suddenly lose her appetite and the urge cry to be overpowering her insides.

"You know what, I'm going to head off...I don't feel all that hungry anymore." Izzy's voice was held with a lack of emotion. She met Tripp's eyes slowly and from what she saw, it seemed he was even more sad and confused than he was barely five minutes ago. Looking over at Gia, all she saw was satisfaction. No surprise there.

"But we just got here, and you haven't even finished you're curly fries." Tripp said, his voice sounding almost pleading and as if it was a great way of convincing her to stay. Izzy shrugged helplessly, staring at the twisted bits of fried potato in its plastic basket.

"I'll have 'em!" Jared offered eagerly, his hands shooting into the air and his eyes bright with interest. Izzy pushed them towards him with a slightly amused smile before she stood up.

"Enjoy them while they last Jared...see you all later I guess." Tripp continued to lamely stare at her, his face holding a frown while Gia waggled her fingers in a mock wave. Jared muffled a bye through his chewing of her curly fries and not really being able to stand anything any longer, Izzy turned around and headed towards the exit with a sigh.

Life was so unfair. Why did girls like Gia seem to get everything? How hadn't Tripp seen through Gia yet? Why did she suddenly want her curly fries back? All these questions roamed through her head vigorously at once before she knocked into a certain someone.

"Oh, sorry my...bad." Stopping her words, Izzy looked up slowly, only to be met with the sight of Bryce Johnson standing before her in all his good looking glory. His arms were around her waist as he managed to prevent her from toppling all over him. He smirked down at her, instantly causing a blush to form lightly on her cheeks.

"Hey, Fuentes. In a bit of hurry were you?" Izzy tucked a thin strand of brown hair behind her ear as he let go of her waist and a sheepish smile tugged at her lips.

"You could say that." Bryce's own lips formed an amused smile, but almost instantly his attention was taken away from her and was moved to the happenings that were going on over her shoulder.

"You realise Drippy Campbell is over there right?" She almost let out a laugh at the nick name he had made up for Tripp, but considering he was her best friend and all she ultimately and loyally kept it in.

"Yeah, I know. That's who I was leaving actually." She said, her tone casual. Bryce raised a surprised eyebrow at this confession.

"Aren't you guys joined at the hip?" She let out a laugh this time, but it wasn't exactly one that was filled with joy and humour.

"Yeah, not really. That's more of a past tense thing now." She glanced over her shoulder, noticing Tripp was staring at them, an annoyed expression on his face. Tripp and Bryce weren't exactly the best of friends, a well known fact amongst everyone that knew them. They had a sort of rivalry going on between them which, although she found amusing, Izzy usually steered clear of. So in many ways, it could've been said that at that very moment she stood co traversing with Bryce; she was considered to be talking with the enemy.

But then again, what did she care? Gia was _clearly _her enemy and did that stop Tripp from going _way_ beyond the valleys of just talking with her? Nope.

"Hey, you okay? You don't seem to be in the best of moods." Izzy shrugged, not wanting to meet his eyes in case she made anything obvious.

"Eh, I've been better." She answered honestly, looking at the floor as if it was suddenly very interesting.

"Hmm... well I was going to get me some grub, but it looks like you could use the company of someone awesome for a while. You want to get out of here and go for a ride or something?" Izzy looked up at him in astonishment. Was he being serious, or was he just trying to annoy Tripp? With him just standing a few metres away, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Bryce to get under his skin...and the perfect opportunity for herself to do the same thing!

This couldn't have been more perfect timing! She could irritate Tripp for a while, _and_ hang out with a really cute guy who just happened to be one of the most popular guys at her school. It was a win-win situation. Her lips formed another smile, and she didn't even feel guilty as she said her next words..

"Sure, I'd love too." And that was that.

**(TXI)**

His insides had literally burned as he watched Izzy walk away with the asshole.

What on earth had she been doing?

It was a cool evening, the moon already shining brightly up in the sky. Sitting in his garage, Tripp was still silently fuming over what had gone down at the mall few hours prior. He just couldn't fathom the fact that Izzy had just walked away, as if she was with her mother on a casual shopping trip or something and not her best friend's worst possible enemy. Her smile had seemed so happy, so genuine. So...not the way she smiled at him anymore.

And what was even worse was the way Bryce had turned around just before they left the food court, a smirk playing on his lips that was too smug to be considered just an innocent way to irk him. Where the hell had they gone? Were they an item now? Why did he even care? Izzy could do anything she wanted. Sure, she was his best friend and they had right to know what was going on in each other's lives, but it wasn't like he had to know everything. She just so happened to have Bryce Johnson as a 'going on' in her life and she had yet to tell him about it.

Why on earth did that annoy him so much?

Well, actually he knew why. Of all people Izzy could have associated with she had chosen Bryce 'douche bag' Johnson; a guy who had infuriated him for as long as he could remember. A guy who also had the habit of stealing away all the girls that happened to be in his life. Angie in kindergarten, Lana the year before, and now of course, Izzy. She was the most important out of all of those three, it was no wonder he was annoyed.

"Hey, kid. What you doing in here all by yourself?" Driven away from his thoughts, he looked up to see the three men he considered to be like fathers to him walking in through the garage door. Derek smiled at him as he spoke, while Burger and Ash trailed behind.

"Uh, nothing. Just thinking." He rested his chin in his palm and held his elbow to his thigh. His face grasped the expression of confusion, as if he simply could not figure something out.

"Whoa, dude thinking isn't the best thing for people, you already look like you're in pain from just doing it. I would know, happens to me every time I try to think." The three other members of the band looked over to Ash, a 'what the hell?' look masking each of their features. Ash smiled at them obliviously, and Burger was the first one to turn back to face Tripp, used to Ash's unhelpful inputs in conversations.

"What's up little man? You look down." Tripp turned his attention away from Ash and gave it Burger, his mind now wandering back to the problem troubling his mind.

"It's Izzy," He started. "She's been acting weird lately, as if she doesn't want to be around me or something. And today she left the mall earlier than usual all happy and merry with _Bryce Johnson." _He spat the name out as if it were a deadly virus and the three weasels gasped.

"Bryce Johnson? Your mortal enemy Bryce Johnson?" Derek asked in dramatic astonishment and Tripp nodded in confirmation.

"The Bryce Johnson who has the tendency to steal all girls that walk into your life away from you Bryce Johnson?" Burger asked this time, and again Tripp nodded sadly.

"The Bryce Johnson who has as unbelievably good looks and amazing dimples Bryce Johnson?" Ash was again, met with 'what the hell' looks aimed towards him from before.

"Well it's true." Derek and Burger reluctantly agreed with this, and Tripp grumbled to himself.

"Guys, you're not helping here." They stopped their musings to look at Tripp.

"Well, it's not like we can help the fact that girls are confusing." Derek told him with a helpless tone. And Tripp couldn't deny that it was true. Girls were confusing. But why did confusion have to be on another level when it came to Izzy?

**(TXI)**

Over the hour, Izzy had been in the pleasure to learn that Bryce was actually an all round nice guy. He was sweet, funny, and there was surprisingly more to him than just his good looks and his talent for sports.

As she walked in through her front door, Izzy couldn't help but think about how his gentlemen offer of driving her home _and_ offering to walk her to my door (to which she had declined) was surprising. What did Tripp see in him that was so bad?

She shouted a quick hello to her mother who was in the living room mindless watching something on the television as she walked up the stairs. For some odd reason, she was in a great mood.

Once Izzy reached her room, she collapsed onto her bed with a sigh. Today had been long struggle, what with Gia being her expected self and Tripp being all cute and infuriating at the same time.

Though at least Bryce seemed to make up for the whole thing.

That night as she went to bed, Izzy fell asleep almost instantly. Her dreams were filled with happiness and Gia having a really bad hair day – which on her accord, could also count as the same thing.

But just as Gia was about to go bald thus missing the really good part of her dream, her happy sleep was interrupted with a loud beep followed by the sound of vibration coming from her phone. Being a light sleeper, Izzy abruptly woke up to this. She jolted awake, looking accusingly around the room for the offending object that had emitted the noise. Looking to her left, she noticed her phone flashing brightly to life in a contrast to the dark room. It was a text message. _Who the heck_ _is this?_ Annoyed, Izzy picked up her phone to read the contents, her eyes squinting as she tried to adjust to the bright light which displayed words on its tiny screen space.

_1 New Message: Trippster :)_

Really? Why was he awake at 3:26 AM in the morning? Izzy murmured profanities to herself as she opened up the message.

_Meet me in the garage. Need to talk to you._

She sat there for a few minutes just staring at the message, reading the words over and over again. Did he really expect her to just run on over there like everything between them was fine? Well he was certainly mistaken. She put her phone back on her night side table and slowly lay her head back onto the pillow.

After ten minutes of continues staring at the ceiling, she knew she couldn't go through with this. And so instead of giving him the cold shoulder like she should have, Izzy got up from her bed and grabbed her jacket with a groan. She wasn't even exactly sure as to why she was bothering to get up. He deserved to sit there alone waiting in his garage all night like an idiot.

But then again she knew that was never going to happen; like she was ever going to stand him up.

She was walking through the back door of his garage five minutes later; at least there were some perks about living two doors away from your best friend. He was sitting in the middle of the room on a bean bag chair, wearing his usual night attire that consisted of a plain dark shirt with a skull on it and sweat pants. As he expertly played a few riffs on one of his many guitars she couldn't help the admiration she felt. It was something, she noticed, he tended to do when feeling troubled on an important manner that was going on in his life. This time he seemed to be concentrating quite a bit because he didn't even notice her presence until she cleared her throat. He turned around sharply, of course not noticing her entering the room. He stopped turning fully however, once noticing her appearance.

She noticed he was assessing her clothing choice and to say that didn't get her nervous was an understatement. But Izzy stood there and let him scrutinize her, hoping her face didn't give away any of her emotions.

"Nice pyjamas." He said with a small smirk and annoyingly she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks as they formed a blush. She dutifully rolled her eyes as if his words didn't affect her.

"Shut up Campbell." Izzy grumbled. She strongly believed that her black kitty pyjama tank top with the matching shorts were pretty awesome.

"No, seriously. You look cute." She gave him a stare that revolved around momentary shock. Cute? She didn't want the word to have such and affect on her but it did. _He thinks I look cute?_ She wondered silently to herself. Was he allowed to say things like that to her while he had a girlfriend?

"...Thanks?" She replied, though it sounded more like a question then a form of reply of gratitude. Upon the silence, Izzy sat down next to him on the bean bag he had kindly set out for her. He gave her a small smile as if to say 'you're welcome' and let his fingers roam the frets of his guitar neck, playing some more chords on the guitar for a few moments as she silently watched him. In her eyes, he always did look adorable as his focused carefully on what he was playing so every note sounded perfect. His hair was falling into his eyes and he flipped it back a little so he could see what he was doing.

Gosh, he was going to be the death of her.

She blinked and lightly shook her head, successfully snapping herself out of this admiration trance he unknowingly had her under. She spoke abruptly to fill the silence.

"So, why did you want me out here?" That got him to stop playing. There was a sound of a clash of a few strings emitting the wrong note, indicating that her words had caught him of guard. He sighed, moving his guitar aside as if to put it down, but stopping short and opting on keeping hold of it instead.

"Oh, I-I was just wondering...about uh..." To her astonishment he was stuttering, a rare trait for the likes of Tripp Campbell. This meant whatever he had to say next definitely had to be interesting.

"About...?" She prompted him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"About you...and Bryce." He said slowly, the disdain obvious in his tone for having to admit it. He managed to hold her gaze for a split second before looking away and Izzy studied his face for a second of her own before replying.

"What about me and Bryce?"

"Just...wondering where you guys went after the mall and...stuff..." Really. It was bothering him that much that he had to text her at three in the morning, interrupt her amazing dream, have her drag herself to his garage where she ended up silently pining for him when she could be doing so much more with her pride, to ask her about something he could have just asked her about tomorrow?

If he wasn't so adorable she would have killed him.

"Nowhere really, we went for a drive. We talked about stuff, that's about it." She kept her answer short purposefully, hoping for an interesting reaction from him. There was a silence; he looked as if he was trying to process this information. Once it looked like he did, he gave her a smile that was a bit too unconvincing to be considered genuine.

"Right, well that's all I really wanted to know." If she wasn't so livid from his lack of reaction she wouldn't have missed the relief that washed over his face momentarily.

"Really?" She asked him carefully, hoping for him to show a sign he cared more than he let on.

"Yeah, really. Good night Iz." She stared at him for a while, refusing to believe he had actually just wasted about twenty minutes of her life, which valuable sleep could have replaced, for _this._

"Night." She muttered. Slowly rising from the bean bag cushion and leaving the garage with the strong urge to punch Tripp Campbell straight in the face.

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**Author's Note:**

_Hey Guys :) I'm back with another update :) much faster than the usual and I'm actually pretty proud of myself LOL. I'm glad to see people are actually reading this through the alerts that I'm getting, so thank you :D_

_Review Thanks: goodgirl21_

_I haven't read over this properly because 1:30 AM right now and I'm tired. So apologise for any typos. Please review with your thoughts, and thanks for reading!_

_-N_


	4. Game On

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own I'm In the Band. It was a great show though.**

**You may want to re-re a bit of the last chapter to remember what's going on because I'm sure you'll need a refresh of what's going on.**

* * *

**Four: Game On**

Was it just Izzy? Or did every kid and teenager get that urge to just burst out laughing when an adult was trying to sound threatening by shouting in your face when you'd seemingly done something bad.

As much as said teen tried to keep it in, they would end up spluttering like an idiot and getting in even more trouble than what they were already currently in; and it wasn't like they could even help it. The situation just always happened to be hilarious. Izzy had the exact same problem as she tried oh so desperately to keep the smile off her face as Principal Jenkins went on and on about how she shouldn't be so careless with a basketball.

Was it her fault that she wasn't co-ordinated? That the rubber ball _slipped _out of her hands and just so happened to aim for Gia's face? The girl just _had _to be in way, knowing Izzy wasn't the best at said sport.

But then again, it wasn't like it could just be called luck that she ended up with a bloody nose too_. That'll teach her..._

"Isabella, do you understand?!" Izzy was trying so hard to stifle her laugh that she was only seconds away from erupting; she could only manage a nod in response. Principal Jenkins gave her a look that resembled a cross between irritation and defeat before shaking his head and pointing towards the door.

"You may leave now." He told her, his voice sounding drained. Izzy just simply bared her teeth at him in a smug grin before she stood up, leaving the room in a flash. She was surprised she hadn't been suspended, considering Gia was the daughter of Principal Jenkins.

Walking past the secretary's small office, she noticed the woman roll her eyes. Izzy daringly glared back. Who was she to judge anyone with that hairstyle anyway? Was she still living in the eighties or something? She walked past the old bag with her head held high, and towards the changing rooms. She was still of course wearing her gym clothes after being escorted almost immediately out of the gym hall and to the principal's office after she'd 'accidentally' hit Gia.

Izzy eventually walked past the nurse's office, and noticed Gia lying in the white patient bed. Her head was pressed up against the wall and an icepack was probed on her red throbbing nose. Izzy stopped and leered at her for a few seconds, waiting for Gia to notice her through the windows. Gia eventually felt a presence looming in the shadows and her eyes quickly turned towards Izzy. Izzy gave her a smug smile and Gia's eyes narrowed angrily. Izzy gave her a quick mock wave of the fingers, an impersonation of some sorts before striding off.

_Nobody messes with me._ Izzy, thought to herself. Oh how revenge would never _not_ be sweet.

**-TXI-**

The end of the school day arrived pretty quickly, and Izzy couldn't have been any happier; although the day's events had been interesting to say the least. People had been consistently congratulating her on ruining Gia's pretty face throughout the day. She had also very impressively for her standards managed to achieve a 'B' on the very hard English essay that had been assigned two weeks ago. Yup, life was good but one thing that would have made it better would have been one person and one person only.

Tripp.

Where had Tripp been all day? It was as if he had disappeared from the world. She had been discreetly looking for a sighting of him all day, and not once did she catch a glimpse of him. Though not making too much of it, she busied herself with the compliments from fellow students and the amusing sight of milk coming out of Jared's nose. That never got old.

The sun was in its usual place high up in the sky, so what better time would there have been to go to the local park? It had taken her ten minutes to get there and with a smile on her she walked in through the entrance.

Another five minutes later Izzy was sitting on a bench with music blasting through her ears, as she tried to enjoy her surroundings. A smile found her lips as she reminisced over the amazing moment the ball had satisfyingly hit Gia right in the nose. The way she had exaggeratingly howled in pain as she fell to the floor. _Maybe next time I should aim for her whole face –_

And suddenly without her having any chance of stopping it, her earphones were rudely ripped out of her ears and the moments of glory were gone.

"Hey!" She shouted, expecting to see any other idiot besides Tripp glaring down at her. Okay, what was his deal? And where had he been all day. Boy did he look mad.

"What's your deal Izzy? Why did you slam Gia?" His brown eyes were narrowed as he asked. She again for the second time that day had to refrain from laughing. The memory was hilarious as well as amazing.

"Hi Izzy how are you? Sorry for being AWOL all day. Oh its fine Tripp, I've been good so don't you worry you can disappear all you want without telling me." Izzy said, with a wave of mock dismissal with her hand.

"Izzy..." He said in a warning tone. He was standing directly in front of her, his brown eyes staring directly into hers. From his stance she couldn't help but get sidetracked for a few moments. _From this angle he looks hot..._Shaking her head, she tuned her mind back to the situation at hand.

"I have bad aim, blame me for being uncoordinated." She answered eventually, while staring up at him with the best innocent face she could muster. Though as she watch him roll his eyes she knew it hadn't worked.

"Your aim's fine and you know it. You need to stop picking on her." Izzy's happy demeanour vanished. He wasn't actually serious was he? _She _needed to stop picking on _Gia?_ Was he downright blind?!

"I'm picking on _her?_ She practically bullies me every day!" She cried, crossing her arms. She was suddenly determined not to back down.

"Oh don't be so dramatic." Tripp sneered. "I know you guys have your...disagreements but -"

"Disagreements?!" Izzy shouted incredulously, "Don't tell me she's brainwashed you into thinking they're just _disagreements_." She used air quotes with her fingers. Tripp sighed looking down at her with what could only be described as...the Tripp look. Yes, it may have sounded stupid but that really was the only way to describe it.

"Come on Iz, just apologise to her, for me?" His were suddenly pleading and Izzy wanted to throttle him. He knew she would do anything for him...but he had to know she would do anything except that. Unless it was a life threatening case or something close to that extreme, there was no way she was ever apologising to _her._

"You have got to be kidding me. You're really asking me to apologise to her? You're just going to believe whatever lies that come out of her mouth so that I'm automatically the bad guy?" Izzy was getting worked up now. She stood up, so now there were at height level...if you minus the few inches that made Tripp slightly taller than her of course.

"Hey I -" She didn't even let him finish, too overcome with anger she interrupted him.

"You haven't even listened to my side of the story! You think I'd just hit her for no good reason?" He stared at her, his eyes holding a mix between irritation and exhaustion.

"No Iz, but -"

"But what? You're meant to be my best friend Tripp! No buts what so ever!" Izzy clenched her fists to her sides. She didn't like that the look he was giving her. Her iPod was still on; she could hear the faint music from her earphones which were left forgotten on the bench with the device.

"Well guess what Isabella," Izzy felt a pang at that one, he only called her by her full name when he was trying to push her buttons or he was truly mad her, and in this case it was obviously the latter.

"You're meant to be my best friend too. And from the way you're not even trying to get along with my girlfriend, for me, you're showing what a lousy best friend you can be." Izzy felt that pang from before, only as twice as hard this time. She took a step away from him, the back of her knees hitting the bench behind her.

"How could you even -" It was his turn to interrupt her now.

"Let me know when you feel like apologising." His expression was stony, and his lips were forming a frown. She didn't say anything this time and instead she just let her eyes leave his face and meet the ground beneath her. She didn't look up when she heard his retreating footsteps. She didn't look up ten minutes after that either. She just sat back down on the bench, her iPod still on and most probably losing a lot of battery. Not that she even cared as she continued to stare at the ground.

This day wasn't actually as great as she had previously thought.

**-TXI-**

It took Izzy almost four hours to give in and apologise.

Lying on the couch in her living room, she ignored the light buzzing sound of the television and instead stared up at the ceiling. She hated it when she and Tripp fought; it depressed her to know end and had her craving Ben and Jerry's ice cream as if they had just broken up. When they were kids Tripp was always first apologise to her because that was in his nature, but as they grew older he realised at times he could be right too.

Which, of course sucked.

Over time Tripp had become stubborn, this being one of those times. They'd never had a fight that had lasted for more than one day, but it wasn't like hours of silent argument wasn't just as much torture to her. So that's what brought her to where she was now - sucking up her pride and standing awkwardly in front of his garage door four hours later. After one big gulp she knocked feebly. What she counted to be thirty seconds later the door opened and instead of the glare from Tripp she was expecting, she was instead greeted with the handsome smile of Derek Jupiter.

"It's about ti – oh...you're not pizza." Derek frowned at the sight of Izzy instead of his beloved pepperoni pizza but opened up the door wider anyway, letting her in.

"No I'm not, sorry." She replied with a small smile and a shrug before waving back at Ash who was enthusiastically flailing his hand in the air in her direction.

"No bother...that pizza's free now fellas." Burger seemed to lighten up from his seat on the floor, suddenly interested in the conversation upon hearing the word's "pizza" and "free" in the same sentence.

"Where's Tripp?" She asked nonchalantly, looking around the averaged sized garage to find that he wasn't there.

"He went to the bathroom." Maybe this could've been her excuse in not talking to him. She was beginning to feel nervous anyway.

"Oh, well...I guess that means I can come back later." She said, with a little too much enthusiasm. She quickly turned around and headed for the back door – but was stopped by a suspicious looking Derek.

"What's up with you?" Derek asked her, his face one of suspicion.

"Nothing!" Izzy said quickly, too quickly. "why would anything be wrong – I mean up?" Derek turned to face his fellow band members who also seemed to have a look of suspicion on their face – even Ash. Izzy looked from one to the other before eventually caving.

"Okay...something is up, me in Tripp are in a fight." All three gasped, as if it truly was that shocking.

"But you guys are best friends! What would cause you guys to get into a fight about?" Burger asked.

"Well, it has to do with Tripp's girlfriend." Izzy reluctantly told them.

"What would Tripp's girlfriend have to do with this? Unless, you know you're jealous or something." All the band members laughed together at Derek's previous statement as if it were truly hilarious, and Izzy laughed along weakly.

"Yeah, jealous haha. That would be so weird right?" Derek slowly stopped laughing first, and stared at Izzy for a long time before it finally clicked.

"Wait a minute," He exclaimed, pointing an excusing finger at her. "You are jealous!" Izzy widened her eyes at him, and Burger and Ash gasped again.

"I can see it your eyes. You look...jealous." Izzy remained silent. How was it that one of these three dimwits had managed to figure out her feelings so quickly? And Tripp himself hadn't?!

"I...uh..." She stammered. Her brain wasn't thinking quickly enough to give an illegible excuse; so she sighed and gave up.

"Okay, it's true. I am jealous. And you know why?" She paused, looking at all of them in turn before revealing what she had yet to tell anybody after a year.

"I'm in love with him." The three men in front of her simply stared at her before all bursting out at the same time with "I KNEW IT!"

"Pay up guys." Derek said, turning to Burger and Derek with his hand outstretched. "I told you I was right."

"No way! I guessed this first, you and Ash should pay up." Burger also outstretched his hand.

"Hey! I think I should get a share too." Ash shouted and soon enough all three of them were in a circle arguing with their hands in the position to claim money.

"GUYS!" Izzy eventually yelled. They all turned to her and yelled back "WHAT?"

"You _bet_ on whether Tripp and I liked each other or not?" Slowly, they put their hands down and looked anywhere but at her. "No..." They said unconvincingly. Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You know what, I don't even care. Just promise me you won't tell him." She raised her pinky finger in the air. "Pinky swear?" The other three band mates shared a look before solemnly agreeing.

"PINKY SWEAR!" They yelled, and they raised their pinkies in the air." Izzy linked her pinkies with each of them in turn before laughing it off with them.

"What's all the commotion in here?" Tripp, walked into the room with a smile on his face but once he caught sight of Izzy it was wiped clean off is face. "What're you doing here Isabella?" Izzy cringed inwardly to herself. He was still calling her by her full name which wasn't a good sign.

"I uh, I came to...to say that I was..." If there was one thing she hated, it was apologising. But she really did hate fighting with him, and she was bored out of her mind at her house anyway. Tripp walked over to where he was standing so that now he was directly in front of her. His arms were folded over his chest and he looked at her expectantly.

"...I'm sorry." It was almost painful letting the words out. She was sorry for hurting him, but she wasn't sorry about what she'd said and did. Bridget was a grade A bitch, and he had yet to realise it.

"For?" He prompted her, also raising an eyebrow for effect. He really wasn't going to make this easy was he? Izzy gritted her teeth before forcing herself to continue.

"For not being a good friend to you. I do value our friendship Tripp you know that." She took a step towards him and after a few moments she noticed a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Yeah, I know that Iz. C'mere." He pulled her into him and they shared a warm hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. Izzy couldn't help but find it amazing how well they fit together just hugging like this.

"I forgive you." He whispered in her ear, and it took everything in her to refrain from shuddering. She decided at that moment that as amazing as being in his arms felt, it was time to let go. So she reluctantly pulled away from him and took a step back. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as she put her hands behind her back and watched Tripp as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Don't mind us." Derek said loudly, "We were never here at all." She looked over at him and once they made eye contact he gave her an obvious wink that she was surprised Tripp didn't question.

Was trusting the three dumbest rockers alive with such a huge of hers really the way to go? Looks like she'd have to find out.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Oh wow, I'm sure nobody is reading this any more. I'm so hugely, immensely, incredibly sorry for how long this took and if you're still reading this you are an angel.

I don't expect them, but if you review I'll dedicate the next chapter to you - I swear! And I'm not sure when I'll update next but just no I do plan on finishing this story no matter how long it takes.

(I apologise for any typos/grammatical errors btw)

**_Review Thanks To: Goodgirl21, TheRightWrongs, Jordan6452 and Evelin for reviewing the chapter all those months ago haha._**


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